Femme Fatale
by already-ghosts
Summary: When Ginny's marriage with Harry disintergrated, she moved in with Hermione for the support. Little did she know that Hermione could have this effect on her...
1. New Beginnings

**AN: **I started writing this and published it ages ago under the title of 'You Saved Me' but lost interest in it. I've finally come back, changed the title and edited the plot. I'm uploading five chapters at once then waiting for some reviews to see if I should continue. :)

_Before I went insane, I used to think of him. Every night. Without fail. Of what he was, of what we could have been. I used to cry a fair bit, too, you know. But only when my brothers weren't around. Merlin knows they would have teased me to no end if they found out. _  
_I used to think of the time he saved me in the Chamber of Secrets, how it nearly killed him, how he refused to accept a word of thanks. _  
_I used to think of the first time he kissed me seven years ago in the Gryffindor common room in front of everyone, and how he simply didn't care. Or perhaps it was the testosterone. Either way, I wanted to slap him, although I did revel in the attention of being his 'girlfriend'. _  
_I remember every time we fought, when I asked him to slow down and just listento me because I thought he didn't care; I thought he had stopped loving me. And every single time he would look confused and dejected, not understanding what I was saying, not comprehending that we simply weren't… working. It broke my heart. _  
_I remember watching as our marriage inevitably disintegrated, as he slowly became more and more involved with his work- as he took less and less interest in me. That was, until the day I found the courage to pick up my bags and leave him- my teenage idol, my lover, my husband, the Boy Who Lived. _  
_I didn't return his Owls, I made sure I was untraceable, I -_

'Ginny!' I heard Hermione's voice ring shrilly from downstairs.

'Yeah? I'm still up here!'

'Merlin, are you still moping around in bed? We have work today, you know.'

I sighed, and closed my journal, hiding it under my mattress. It wasn't that I didn't trust Hermione, but, you know… She was Hermione.

I had a lot to thank her for. And I mean a lot. She had been providing me with a house, a bed and a job for almost a year after my marriage with Harry ended. And she wouldn't let me move out or buy all the food when I protested at her over-zealous generosity- she seemed to like my company.

'Oi, Ginny! Breakfast is getting cold, and work is in… twenty minutes! Shit, Ginny! Hurry up!'

'I'm coming, I'm coming, keep your pants on!', I yelled as I finished putting my top on and ran down the stairs, tripping and nearly breaking my bloody neck on the way down.

'There you are. I was worried you had run away, or gone back to sleep again. I made poached eggs and toast, it's not amazing but we're running out of time…'

She checked her watch anxiously, her hair growing bushier by the second with stress.

I reached up and ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance.

'Chill, Hermione, seriously. I'm dressed, I'm eating, you're ready- we're fine. Breathe.'

Hermione rolled her eyes and headed back to the kitchen, presumably to clean up while she waited for me. I frowned.

She never used to be this anxious, not even when we were back at school and she was taking double the standard amount of subjects with exams every week. I often wondered if it was because she was so stubborn; never letting anyone help her. But every time I tried telling her to calm down or to get a boyfriend to help her de-stress, she'd laugh and say that after Ron, she didn't need another boyfriend- they were all 'far too much maintenance'. Of course she would say that.  
I did have to agree with her though.

Placing my knife and fork down on my half-empty plate, I yelled out to Hermione that I was done. She sprinted in and grabbed my hand, ready to apparate. But before she did, she looked down at what I was wearing and grinned.

'Your shirt's on back to front'.

**AN: **Well, here it is. The story has restarted itself after all this time. Reviews please! Tell me what you think. xx


	2. Long Day

_***Crack***_

I felt my feet hit the ground sharply and tried to steady my breathing. Apparation always left me slightly out of breath with the feeling I had just squeezed through a very long and narrow pipe. Looking down at myself, I remembered what Hermione had said about my shirt. I jerked away from her.

'Turn around!' I said, tugging it off and turning it around before putting it back on.

'Ginny, don't do that outside the school! What if one of the children saw?'

'Hermione, you maniac', I said, rolling my eyes. 'There's still…' I took a peek at the crystal watch on her wrist.

'There's still two hours before they get here! Why the hell are we here so early!' I demanded.

'Well, I thought that seeing as it was the first day back for the term…'

I sighed. It was seven o'clock on a Monday morning and here we were, in the freezing cold outside the school.

'I suppose we should go in and set up then. And can we turn the heaters on when we're inside? I'm freezing my ass… My pants off out here', I said, correcting myself under Hermione's reproachful glare. Ever the teacher, she was.

After her split with Ron, Hermione quit her job as the Minister for Muggle Affairs at the Ministry of Magic. She moved from her central London home to the quiet English countryside and used the little funds she had to start her own school. 'The Phoenix School of Learning', she had called it.

She bought a little cottage and spent six months refurbishing and remodelling it so it was fit for her purposes, not accepting help from anyone. Always striving for equality, she opened the school to Muggleborns, Squibs and witches and wizards who lived too far away from the young people's magical schools in London. Her only condition of entry was that you had to pay the small fee of one hundred Galleons a year and that all children had to be between the ages of four and ten- no younger or older.

In the first year of the school, Hermione only had ten students. But word soon spread of the kindly young woman and her inexpensive school in the country, and by that time next year, she had fifty new students. All her classes were based on the development of magical skills and were graded on experience and talent rather than age. Each class had ten students, all of different ages with approximately the same level of skills, and each class was on at a different time during the day so that Hermione could teach all her students.

It was about that time when I moved in with Hermione, and she soon had me working beside her every morning from eight till eleven and then from one till three in the afternoon. I can't say I wasn't happy with this.


	3. A Revelation of a Different Kind

With a slight shiver, Hermione unlocked the door and beckoned for me to come inside. She fumbled around for the light-switch, turned on the heaters and opened the curtains.

I had always been amazed at how Hermione managed to incorporate so many Muggle devices in her classrooms, as well as common wizarding objects. She had lamps, fans, toasters, pens and pencils working with quills, wands, broomsticks and owls that often came by with lunch parcels for the students.

'Hermione,' I asked through a yawn, 'Why were you rushing this morning?

'Hmm? Aren't I always?'

'No, you seemed to be rushing more than usual if that's possible'.

'Oh. Well, I wanted to set up, and I wanted to be here when it arrived…'

'When what arrived?'

At that moment, a tawny owl flew up and tapped on the window. Hermione rushed over, opened the window and untied the large package from its legs. As soon as she let go, the owl flew away as quick as it came.

'What's that?' I asked, peering over her shoulder. She flicked her fingers at me lightly, concentrating on the parcel.

'Just a package'.

'I can see that. What's in it?'

Without speaking, Hermione undid the brown wrapping, revealing a large box. Picking up her wand, she murmured a few words and the tape holding it together fell off, undoing the lid and exposing…

'Books?'

'Yes, aren't they absolutely gorgeous?' Hermione gushed. 'I saw them in the Witches Weekly parenting column and decided to order a few… For educational purposes only, of course.'

'A few?' I stared at her, and then back at the box. There must have been at least forty of the books in there.

'Oh, just stop fussing and take a look, Ginny!'

'Sorry. It's just… what did you buy them with? I know the school's going well with funds and enrolment fees, but these look so expensive!'

'Ginny, really! We have more than enough money, and I just received three more owls with enrolment requests. Now, just take a look at them! Goodness, I can't believe you were the one telling me to chill out before!'

She giggled, and pushed me closer toward the box. I peered inside and picked up one of the books. They were bound with red leather and embossed with a floral gold design and titled simply 'Magic for Beginners'. I opened it gently, hearing the spine creak quietly as I did.

Hermione was right- they were beautiful.

Each page had a sub-heading at the top written in gold with large, easy to read black print underneath and classically drawn moving pictures to demonstrate each instruction or explanation given.

I didn't say a word and continued to turn the pages carefully, feeling oddly drawn to the splendour of the books.

'Do you like them?' Hermione asked, studying my face carefully.

'I do', I breathed. 'They're absolutely gorgeous, Hermione. I just hope the students won't destroy them…'

'Oh, I'll make sure they won't. I'll put and Unbreakable charm on them or something. It should be quite simple, although I wonder if perhaps a Disillusioning charm would work better? Then if they thought about scribbling on the pages they would have the urge to turn away…'

As Hermione went on, I tuned out and looked away from the book and back up at her, drawing a sharp breath as I did.

She was gorgeous. How had I not noticed it before? All the times in the Common Room, at countless breakfasts, lunches and dinners- perhaps it was seeing her in a different context.

Yes, that must be it.

It was just that… there was something about her that was so interesting. Her face was lit up in excitement and passion, and the breeze from the slightly ajar window was stirring her hair lightly, making it glint in the early morning sun.

I shook my head. This wasn't right. How long had I known Hermione for now? Ten, twelve years? She was practically my best friend. I was probably just a little tired.

I tore my eyes away from her as I realised she had stopped talking.

'What?' She demanded. 'Is there something on my face?'

'Hmm? Oh- sorry, no. Nothing.' I said, jerking out of my trance.

'I was just thinking about how we should probably start setting up soon before the little monsters arrive. You're quite behind schedule, Miss Granger!' I teased.

'Oh, shut it you. At least I can actually wake up in the morning!' she said, poking in the ribs playfully.

I smiled. As tired as I was, I knew that today was going to be a good day.


	4. None Of Your Business

Six hours later and I was exhausted. I had only been doing this for a month and yet those god-forsaken children had me at my wits end.

It's not that they weren't polite- in fact, most of them were- it was just that it was so hard to run around after them all day! All the accidental magic was awful, but then there were the simpler things- needing to tell the children that the bathroom was not for toilet paper fights, that yes, the owls do mind if you pull at their tail feathers- it was a tough job.

And yet Hermione never once lost her cool. She was always calm, practical and approachable. Being the observer, I could see why her school was such a success. Who else out there would be able to teach with such a firm but gentle hand, six hours a day, five days a week?

'Ginny? Are you alright?'

'Hmm? Oh, of course. Sorry Hermione- I left you to pack up all by yourself!'

'No, that's fine, Ginny. You've had a long day, don't stress about it.'

'My day hasn't been any longer than yours, Hermione. Look, why don't I get dinner for us? My treat. We haven't had a decent night out in forever!'

'Oh, Ginny, I don't know… Long nights out aren't really my thing, you know that.'

'Come on, Hermione, just once! Lighten up. It's a Friday after all.'

If there was one thing Hermione couldn't stand, it was being told to lighten up.

'Fine! But I don't know why you're making such a fuss.'

She stalked off to finish tidying up the bookshelf

'I'm making a fuss? Have you seen yourself?' I muttered.

'Care to repeat, Ginny?' she asked frostily.

I shot her a quick grin.

'Nothing, Hermione. Come on, you've agreed to dinner and we'll be late if you don't get a move on!'

Hermione strode over, grabbed my arm and gave me a firm look.

'Ginny, we're going for dinner but you need to stop being so goddam pedantic. My day has been just as long as yours and as I'm the only one who did any real work with the kids I think I have a right to be a little bit moody. Got it?'

I prised her grip off of me; she surprised me by replacing it almost instantly.

'I'm trying to Apparate, you idiot.'

I guess I was wrong about Hermione always appearing calm. But I'd never seen her this way before, and it unnerved me.

'Hermione? What's up?'

'Ginny, I love you, but it's really none of your business.'

Her grip tightened, I held my breath and with a sharp 'crack', we were gone


	5. Cold Showers

'Hermione? Why are we back at home?'

She glared at me.

'Did you really think I'd let you out looking like that, Ginny?'

I stared down at myself. My jeans and shirt were covered in paint, owl feathers and a strange splotch of blue which was certainly not there earlier this afternoon.

'Now go upstairs and change. Merlin, you make all this fuss about wanting to go out to dinner and you look like you've been dragged through the bushes backwards!'

I was a little sick of her ordering me around at that point, so I took one look at her and noted her ridiculously bushy mane of hair.

'Well while I shower, make sure you do something with that hair. I don't want it to look like I'm going out with Bellatrix Lestrange for dinner.'

That shut her up.

Spluttering wordlessly, she turned on her heel and headed towards the downstairs bathroom.

I loved Hermione to bits, I really did, but it was at times like this when she made me so goddam furious.

I sighed and heeded Hermione's advice. I really did need a shower. I headed upstairs, opened the bathroom door and stepped in, marvelling at the sunset I could see through the window.

I began to strip, revelling in peeling off my dirty clothes to reveal my skin. Already I felt so much cleaner.

There was a bang on the door.

'Ginny?'

Hermione burst in.

'Ginny, I just left my hair cream in here, could you-'

She stopped in her tracks the moment she realised I was stark naked.

'Fuck, Hermione!'

I scrambled for a towel and attempted to hide behind the bathroom door.

At this point Hermione had her hands over her eyes and was blushing furiously.

'Oh Merlin, Ginny, I'm so sorry, I just wanted my cream and…'

I'd heard enough. I walked to the cupboard, found the cream and all but flung it at her.

She mumbled a thank you but she had hardly finished it before I'd slammed the door in her face. Dropping the towel and turning on the hot water, I watched the steam curl its way to the ceiling as I thought about my reaction to Hermione coming in like that.

It wasn't that I was ashamed of my body, not at all. It was just very… vulnerable, very intimate, having Hermione seeing me so exposed.

And as I stepped into the shower I realised something else- it gave me a little thrill to know that Hermione had seen something that not even Harry had.

I blushed and tried to stop thinking about it. It was just Hermione, and it was just an accident. I should probably apologise for being so rude when I went back downstairs.

My thoughts instantly went back to the look on Hermione's face just before she covered her eyes. It was embarrassed, but also slightly… curious?

I groaned and washed the shampoo out of my hair.

Who said men were the only ones who needed cold showers?


	6. Surprises

'Ginny?'

'Mmm?'

'Thanks for this. Dinner, I mean', Hermione said, gesturing towards the restaurant table.

I looked around. It was a nice little place. La Belle Noir, it was called. A muggle establishment- I had found it after reading a few of those muggle papers Hermione kept around.

The room was wide and open with two chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. A French jazz trio sat in the corner, slowly filling the air with the sound of piano, saxophone and the croons of the lead singer. Tables were scattered across the floor and the clinking of glasses and amicable chatting warmed the atmosphere as much as the huge wood fire at the back of the room.

'Hermione? Can I ask what was wrong today?'

'Ginny…' Hermione warned.

'No, come on, Hermione. First you were so calm and warm and then as soon as the kids have left and it was just us, you went nuts!'

Hermione glared at me.

'Ginny, it was nothing. I've just had a long day.'

'Yeah, and you've been having long days for a year without cracking like that! What's going on?'

'Ginny, I really don't want to do this now. Not here.'

I looked at her. For the first time since I moved in with her, there was fear in her eyes. Her skin had gone a slightly ashen colour, making her brown eyes almost pop out of her face.

'Fine. But when we get home, you're telling me everything, alright? It's not fair that you have to feel shit, you need to be able to get it off your chest.'

Hermione gave me a small smile.

'Thanks, Ginny. I will, I promise.'

'Alright. Shall we order?'

Two hours and finally, after sampling most of the dishes at the restaurant and talking about everything under the sun except what was wrong with Hermione, I paid the bill with some muggle money I kept spare and the two of us walked outside.

It was freezing. Our breaths turned to frost as soon as they left our mouths. Wanting nothing more than to be at home and warm I grabbed Hermione's arm to side-along Apparate and we left the street and reappeared back on the couch and the living room.

Hermione lay out, full after all we had eaten and knowing that I was about to demand an explanation from her.

But looking at her, so tired and so obviously worn out, I wondered if perhaps it would be better to just let it go and wait till the morning.

'Hermione?'

'Yes, Ginny?'

'You know how I was going to ask you to tell me what was wrong?'

'Mmm?'

'Well, did you want to wait till the morning?'

Hermione sighed, tossing up the pros and cons of waiting.

'I can tell you now, if you want. I need to get this off my chest anyway, like you said. Can I?'

I wondered why she even bothered to ask when I had been pestering her all evening.

'Always.'

I settled down, waiting for my explanation which I had been coveting for what felt like forever.

'Remember how about two weeks ago you went out to see if there was an opening for any jobs in the Ministry of Magic?'

I nodded. I had only gone out to get Hermione off my back, she had been pestering me for ages before then to 'just get a job if you don't want to work with the kids'.

'Well as soon as you had left, I disappeared as well.'

Now, this was brand new information. Where did Hermione have to go without telling me?

'I went to visit your brother. He had owled me the day before, asking if I wanted to meet with him and try and sort this all out. And I was so angry that he had contacted me but I just couldn't leave him hanging, you know? I wanted to know why after all this time, after all the crap he'd put me through and after everything I'd said to him he contacted me. So I apparated to The Burrow and… Ron… When I saw him, he…'

Hermione paused, taking a deep breath.

'Ginny, he proposed to me.'

**AN: **What do you all think? Sorry for the cliffhanger, but there will (hopefully!) be an update soon. As always, keep reviewing! xx


	7. Post-Question Sadness

'_He proposed to me.'_

I blanched.

Ron? Proposing to Hermione? I couldn't believe it. Especially after all that happened. He didn't see her when she was crying because of what he said to her, when Hermione was ripping up every letter they sent to each other. He was my brother and I loved him but even I could admit that he had been a bloody git to Hermione.

I stared at Hermione for Merlin knows how long. Did she say yes? What would that mean? She couldn't have, could she? And why the hell was he proposing to her anyway? They hadn't even seen each other for nearly two years now, for Merlin's sake.

'Ginny?'

Hermione's voice had a tremor to it which I couldn't help but detect. She was nervous.

'_What?_' I replied, harsher than I'd meant.

'Are you… are you mad?'

'Only if you said yes.'

There was an uncomfortable pause.

'Did you say yes, Hermione? Did you?'

There was no reply from her.

'Merlin, Hermione, give me an answer! _**Did you say yes or not?**_'

It was Hermione's turn to stare at me, tears welling in her eyes after my yelling at her. I couldn't even feel bad about that. The idea of Hermione accepting my brother after what he'd done…

'Why are you so angry, Ginny?'

'Why am I angry? Are you _joking_, Hermione? Do you even know what he did to you? I thought you were smart, but obviously you're not!'

'I haven't even given you a bloody answer yet, Ginny!'

'Then why don't you? If it was a no, you'd have already told me!'

'Maybe it's none of your business what my answer is! Why does it even concern you, Ginny? You were the one who told me to get this off my chest and now you're the one screaming at me! Are you just worried that if I said yes, our housing arrangement would stop? Is that it? It's not caring for me, is it, Ginny? It's just making sure that you're okay!'

Angry tears were now flowing freely from Hermione.

I had no idea how to respond to her. Our living arrangements hadn't even crossed my mind. Not like she'd believe me. How was I meant to tell her that of _course _I cared when I didn't even know why I did?

'Are you going to answer me, Ginny? Or are you going to stare at me with that stupid face all night?'

Oh, how the tables had turned.

'You know what? Fine. It's just fine, Hermione. I don't give a shit what your answer was and you're right- I don't actually care about how this affects you.'

There was a dull ringing in my ears as Hermione swallowed up my lies as easily as pills. Did she really think so little of me as to believe I'd mean that? And of course I wanted to know what her answer was, even though I had a sneaking suspicion it was yes. My stomach dropped. Why was I being so protective all of a sudden?

I was angry and confused and I turned to Hermione to let her know.

'I'm going to bed.'

Was that the best I had? Obviously yes. I turned on my heel and left, leaving Hermione and her tear-streaked face to her own devices.

A beam of light snuck across my face and I yawned, stretching. I really didn't want to wake up but now that I had opened my eyes I knew there was no hope of me going back to sleep.

As I sat up and pulled my duvet close around me, the memories of my conversation (or rather, argument) with Hermione the night before came flooding back to me.

I remembered my yelling at her, her crying and finally her yelling back at me before I stormed upstairs. And all over whether or not she'd said 'yes' to my brother's hand in marriage.

I wanted to scream. I hadn't even gotten an answer from her! Our whole argument was absolutely pointless. Rolling out of bed, I slid on a bright purple jumper with my initials on it that my mother had knitted for me one Christmas and headed downstairs.

I was hoping Hermione would still be in bed, but obviously I was wrong.

She was sitting at the table, mug of tea in hand and reading one of her muggle papers. It was nothing unusual; Hermione rarely varied her Saturday morning routine.

'Morning', I muttered.

Hermione ignored me. Not that I deserved anything less, really. I'd been a right prat to her.

'Have you eaten?'

Again, no answer.

I rolled my eyes and opened the fridge to pour myself a cup of milk and to grab some break to stick in the toaster. The atmosphere slowly grew tenser as I fiddled around the kitchen, pretending I couldn't feel Hermione's eyes on the back of my head.

A loud slamming of a mug on the table got my attention.

'I'm going out', Hermione spat.

'Where?'

'Like I keep telling you, Ginny, it's none of your business. Now back off before I kick you out of my house. Oh, and before you scream at me again, I'll just let you know that my answer to Ron was no. So shut up for a minute and consider the fact that maybe, just maybe I'm a little upset today too.'

Before I could open my mouth, there was a large _**crack **_and Hermione was gone.

I sighed and placed my toast back on the bench.

_I deserved that, _I thought.

_She just needs a break. Maybe I can journal a little while she's out? I haven't done that in a while._

But as soon as that thought came to me I dismissed it. The whole idea of opening my journal seemed pointless at the moment.

I was still struggling to comprehend the fact that Hermione had said no. Why would she do that? She was angry at him, sure, but I thought there was a part of her that would do anything to be back with Ron again.

I picked up my toast and milk, leant against the bench and began eating, the sound of my chewing echoing eerily in the now-quiet house.

I wished I knew where she had gone, if only to tell her I was sorry for acting like such an idiot. Why should her answer matter?

But that didn't stop my crying as I slumped down in the chair that Hermione had been in only moments ago.

**AN: **Drama! Hope you enjoyed the longer chapter. As always, review! Much love xx


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